Introduction to Select Lectures in Church History 21 February 2007 Ann T. Orlando

Introduction to Class Introductory remarks Importance of Church History for me Review Syllabus  Requirements  Structure of course  Course Web Site Primary sources  Where are they?  How to read them Periods of Church History Background to Ignatius of Antioch

Importance of Church History (or why I love Church History) Gives me the context for the theological answers that have been developed and taught by the Church  Often, can’t appreciate the answer without knowing the question  Example: Jesus Christ whom we confess as one person with two natures Gives me an appreciation for importance of Catholic Church in Western civilization Gives the examples of holy men and women for me to follow

Requirements Class attendance and active participation. Each class will consist of two parts;  Reading of one page papers and discussion by class  Lecture The 1 page paper every week; should focus on the primary source readings. The paper should start with a one sentence thesis statement, followed by supporting arguments that answers the paper topic question.

Structure for Each Class Period One page paper will be read by class- member; followed by class discussion of readings Break I will lecture on what the readings cover for the coming week I will review readings for coming week Primary Sources and CCC NEXT week See syllabus for example

Texts for Class Augustine, Confessions, trans. Chadwick Handouts or web accessible readings  Ignatius of Antioch  Benedict of Nursia  Thomas Aquinas  Martin Luther and Ignatius Loyola CCC

Primary Sources Different, multiple sources each week; should be focus of papers  Reference ancient works using Book/Chapter/Paragraph numbering (e.g., Luke 1:1-4) Read everything critically  What issues is author addressing; how important is the historical circumstance to those issues  Who is the audience  What is genre of the work (homily, thesis, poem, letter, Biblical commentary) Caution using Web Resources  Anybody can put anything on the web and claim that it is ‘authoritative’  Many ancient works, especially early Church Fathers, are available, but in older translations  Maintenance of a web resource is still on an individual basis; no guarantee that information will be well maintained

What this class is NOT This is not a class in Church History Not a systematic study of the major strands in Church History Not an analysis of historical developments; each lecture self-contained.

So, What is it? Reading a few important, classic works in Church History Historical background of the reading will be discussed Historical and theological significance of the reading will be emphasized Importance of reading will be emphasized through use of the CCC

Terminology: Periods of Church History Patristic: 100 ~ 700  Rise and Fall (in West) of Roman Empire  Ignatius of Antioch, Augustine Early Medieval: 400 ~ 1000  Rise of Islam, Rise of Europe  Augustine, Benedict of Nursia High Middle Ages: 1000 ~ 1300  Crusades, Popes and Kings, Rise of Universities  Thomas Aquinas Late Middle Ages and Reformation: 1300 ~ 1600  Fracturing of Christendom in West; Fall of Roman Empire in East  Martin Luther and Ignatius Loyola Beginning of Modernity and the Enlightenment: 1600 ~ ??  Separation of Church and State  Rise of science, decline of faith

Background to Ignatius of Antioch Height of Roman Empire Early developments in Christianity Martyrs Early heresies

Rome Traditional founding date of 753 BC Started as a Republic ruled by Senate Punic Wars, conquers and destroys Carthage 202 BC Maccabees ask Rome for help against Seleucids 160 BC Julius Caesar conquers Gaul 80 BC Augustus defeats Anthony and Cleopatra (last Ptolemy ruler of Egypt) at Actium in 31 BC; Roman Empire established Roman Empire existed in some form between 31 BC and 1453 AD

Second Century Roman Emperors The Five ‘Good’ Emperors: The Antonines (98-180)  Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius  Good because the Empire prospered with excellent government  Until Marcus Aurelius, each Emperor adopted a suitable successor rather than relying on a son  But not so good for Christians; continued practice of sporadic persecution  Also not so good for Judaism; Trajan and Hadrian both pursued wars against Jews

Map of Roman Empire fsmitha.com/h1/map18rm.htm

Roman Society Roman religion was a public, civic obligation;  NOT a way to have a personal relationship with Divine  ‘mystery religions’ became very popular in 1 st through 3 rd Century Roman Society (Cults of Mithra; Isis and Osiris; Dionysius)  Anyone who did not offer sacrifice for the good of the state was considered an atheist Roman Emperor increasingly was a general who was ‘adopted’ by current Emperor (Augustus). Cult of Roman Emperor as god in his lifetime was started by Nero Roman household was composed of patron (father) and clients (wife, children, slaves, business associates dependent upon him)  Father had complete control of clients  Adoption was very common  Owning property was far more prestigious than commerce Excellent road and mail system throughout the Empire Note that the most Latin (least Greek) part of the Empire was North Africa

Development of Rabbinic Judaism During the First War with Rome AD, the Sadducees, Essenes and Zealots were destroyed  Destruction of Temple in 70 In 117 AD the Emperor Trajan destroyed the Hellenistic Jewish community in Alexandria; after this the Greek (or Hellenistic) Jews seemingly either converted to Christianity or rabbinic Judaism Second Palestinian War, Bar Kochba rebellion, ; after this war, Romans did not allow Jews into Jerusalem The Pharisees were the group out of which rabbinic Judaism grew in the 2cd and 3 rd C CE. They reestablished contact with the Mesopotamian Jews and their theology; rejected use of Greek philosophy and parts of the OT written in Greek, not Hebrew Hellenistic (Greek) Jewish theology was taken over, preserved and used by early Christian theologians, especially in Alexandria

Christianity End of First Century Christianity spread through missionary activities to urban centers, especially with large Diaspora Jewish populations Remember, when Paul writes Romans, he is writing to a predominantly Jewish Christian community that he did not found; he writes to introduce himself and his theology to Christians already in Roman Christianity appeared to most outsiders (and some who considered themselves Christian) like another form of Judaism Nero used Christians as scapegoats for fire in 64 AD  Jewish Christian community was small  Execution of Peter and Paul probably took place during this time Rome quickly became the ‘capital’ city of Christianity  Place where Peter and Paul died  Capital of Empire  “No one” left in Jerusalem

Christianity Second Century Further distancing from Judaism  Example: when to celebrate Easter: on Sunday or Passover?  Converts increasingly have no previous contact with Judaism Important centers of large Christian communities and learning: Rome, Alexandria, Antioch Christianity offers itself to everyone, including women and slaves  Notable for care of poor, widows, sick (ministry of deacons)  Notable because Christians are unconcerned with conventional societal patterns (Church more important than family)  Notable for willingness to die rather than sacrifice But there is not one type of Christianity  One of earliest ‘heresies’ is docetism; Jesus only appeared to be human  Another contested issues is that God the Father of Jesus is not the Creator of OT  What literature written in 1 st and 2cd C about Jesus is canonical  Who has authority to teach

Most Profound Experience of Church in Second and Third Centuries: Persecution Why did Romans persecute Christians?  Because Christians would not honor Roman gods Civic duty to worship gods  Could also participate in other religions, but had to worship gods Christianity appeared ‘new’  In antiquity, what was old was honored (Judaism) Christians seemed to be threat to social order  ‘Impiety’ not only not worshiping gods, but Church more important than family or Empire Most persecutions were local, sporadic  Persecution of Decius c. 250 and Diocletian ealry 300s were Empire wide

Christian Responses to Persecution 1. Intellectual: Apologies written to justify Christianity to Roman authorities 2. Facing torture and death without apostasy; often even looking forward to martyrdom eagerly as a proof of solidarity with Jesus 3. But, if you believed that Jesus only appeared to be human (docetists), then there seemed little reason to be a martyr yourself 4. Some did not have the courage when accused, and so apostatized and/or paid others for their libelli

1. Response to Persecution: Apologies Type of literature that often had the form of a legal defense It was intended for a highly educated pagan (i.e., philosophical) audience; often drew heavily on philosophical concepts to explain Christianity Tried to establish antiquity and respectability of Christianity It tried to show that Christianity was not to be feared, but encouraged good citizenship St. Justin Martyr wrote two Apologies; Tertullian wrote an Apology

2. Response to Persecution: Martyrdom and Christianity Martyr comes from Greek word for witness Did not actually have to die to be a martyr, but to suffer for faith (slavery, prison, mines) Note: Romans tried to avoid creating Christian martyrs; accused were given several opportunities to offer sacrifice

Martyrs Real desire to prove the totality of Christian faith (e.g., Origen On Martyrdom) Those who died were (still are) considered heroes of the faith  Pilgrimage to place of burial  Remembering their sacrifice in “Acts”; Peter (Quo vadis); Perpetua and Felicity; Justin Martyr Those who suffered but did not die (also known as confessors) were popularly considered able to forgive sin of apostasy  Problem for 3 rd C bishops

3. Response to Persecution: Docetists (Gnostics) Heavily influenced by Platonism  Believed that Jesus was God, and therefore could not suffer  Physical was not important; one should try to rise above the physical to the spiritual  Martyrdom had little value  Knowledge (gnosis) of faith was a secret revealed by God to individual, not taught and open to all Docetists were bitterly fought by ‘orthodox’ Christians, especially bishops

4. Christian Response to Persecution: Apostates (or Lapsed) Very often, after persecution subsided, apostate wanted to return to Church Some sought forgiveness from martyrs Some Churches refused to allow them to return; Church only for pure: Donatists Some wanted them to be rebaptized Church needed a uniform policy

Ignatius of Antioch, d. 112 Seven letters to churches in Asia Minor and Rome; among most important early Christian writings Note importance of suffering (opposed to docetists) Note importance of Bishop Eucharistic references Remember when he talks about being eaten by beasts, this is not metaphorical, but factual

Church Organization Bishops, presbyters (elders, priests), deacons  Based on Biblical divisions Bishop as leader very early on (Ignatius)  Bishops selected by presbyters and people; confirmed and ordained by local bishops in area Presbyters primary mission was to help bishop teach, assist at liturgy Deacons run the ‘business’ of Church; feed poor, manage Church property and cemeteries; assist Bishop at Easter vigil baptisms

Assignment Ignatius Letter to Romans CCC: Write 1 page paper suggestions: role of bishop; importance of martyrs